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Baseshment I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

Peereddi I was totally surprised at how great this film.You could feel your paranoia rise as the film went on and as you gradually learned the details of the real situation.

eespeysundt Do you ever feel like you are completely alone or that no one else could possibly understand the way you are feeling? While I would venture to guess that almost everyone has felt this way at some point in their life, viewing You, The Living, by Roy Andersson (2007) is a valuable experience, even if you haven't experienced feelings of loneliness and solidarity. This film presents the intimate moments of several different people's lives. Through several small anecdotes viewers are invited to watch people as they experience the joy and daily struggles that are all a part of the human experience. The anecdotes illustrate a variety of experiences, but all of them present the idea of longing; a longing to feel understood, a longing to connect with others in a meaningful way, a longing to do something important/valuable within one's life, etc. However, many of the characters' wishes and hopes for the future seem silly. For example, the young woman who has a crush on Micke Larsson (Eric Bäckman) believes that if only she could be with him, then everything in her life would be alright. Similarly, the woman in the opening scene wants a motorcycle to leave town with the belief that her problems will stay behind. The characters' ideas and visions for the future are unrealistic because there are no simple answers or "fixes" to being happy and living in the moment. Andersson explores difficult questions through this film; Do we matter to anyone? Would people notice if we just disappeared? What is the meaning of living in the moment and being alive? Through oddball characters and over-the-top scenarios, viewers are presented with a dark but comedic look on life. Sometimes it feels as though everything in the world is backwards in relation to what we expect or perceive during certain situations. This feeling is reflected and explored through the multitude of small sketches that make up the film. Take the psychiatrist sketch for example. He prescribes tons of pills to his patients claiming that he is too tired to help people become happy through therapy. Since this scenario presents a situation we might not expect, or something that goes against the norms of society, we are forced to think critically and question the meaning of what we are seeing. The viewers takes viewers on a whirlwind adventure of musical entertainment. Several genres are represented, and an interactive approach is taken to incorporating sounds to the film. The opening is characterized by grand, sweeping orchestral music. Micke Larsson's character adds a large element to the film by the inclusion of rock music. An unusually popular genre for Sweden, the inclusion of this sketch is also supported by the two characters in the opening of the film who also portray a "hardcore" vibe. Another interesting aspect to the sounds/music in the film is the interactive approach that is taken. In several of the smaller stories background music is playing and characters begin to play an instrument or speak in rhythm, adding a supplement to the background track. This is evident in the scene where the man begins to play the sousaphone in his kitchen, as well as when another man participates in the funeral band. This film is one of the latest film of Swedish director Roy Andersson, and is one of only five feature films that he has directed. Andersson's career has been directed mostly towards commercials as well as a few short films. While You the Living certainly has overarching themes, the film is broken up somewhat into the individual stories of several characters. These stories come together to emphasis the often comedic tragedies of life, and while they might be less effective at communicating this point as an isolated incident the story of each character could be viewed on it's own. This could be link to Andersson's experience of working in shorts and commercials is apparent; he is comfortable conveying a large message or point in a more condensed period of time. This film is certainly successful in pushing me to question what I was viewing. However, I will also say that I found this film to be confusing. The multiple story lines, while reflective of the chaotic nature of life, were sometimes difficult to piece together. I can certainly respect the themes of interconnectedness and the universal human experience that Andersson explored throughout this film, but I do feel that through the seemingly random collection of anecdotes this message may be confusing or difficult to see. But if you are looking for an artsy film to analyze or just something out of the ordinary, then I would definitely recommend this film.

Andy Steel This film consists of a series of vignettes with one common theme; that fact that the protagonists have life harder than everyone else. It's very interesting and very darkly humorous in places. It's one of those films I would like to watch again at some point because I'm sure I'd get much more out of it a second time around. There are many and varied characters including a woman who just wants everyone to 'go away' because nobody understands her… but will probably be round later for tea. A girl who is a fan of a guitarist in a rock band; she is depressed because she wants to marry him, but she can't see how that could happen. A depressed psychiatrist who has given up and just prescribes pills now. There are many more and they all seem interconnected. The music was very interesting; mostly traditional or rag-time jazz but with a little bit of rock thrown in every now and again. All the performances were excellent throughout and I love the, almost comic book, look and feel of the film. I have to admit I probably enjoyed this one a tad more than my score might suggest. Definitely one that will get a second viewing sometime.SteelMonster's verdict: RECOMMENDEDMy score: 6.4/10You can find an expanded version of this review on my blog: Thoughts of a SteelMonster.

rosenwin "Be pleased then, you the living, in your delightfully warmed bed, before Lethe's ice-cold wave will lick your escaping foot."This opening quotation by Goethe speaks to director Roy Anderson's quest to expose the human condition of the living through a series of absurd and whimsical vignettes. Although the film lacks an overarching linear narrative, these vignettes all speak to unique human experiences in the at times crazy world that the living occupy. Through the character's bizarre interactions and comedic confessions, You, The Living opens the viewer to see the world and its workings in a novel way. One important theme of the film is the role of onlookers. These scenes explore how we don't realize how entangled we are with the bystanders that frequently surround us. Many of us go on our day-to-day business without considering the experiences of others. For example, there is one scene where daughter is trying to communicate with her mother who is suffering from Alzheimer's, while an unaddressed nursed sits daftly in the background. In a more obvious way, the large depressed woman who humorously wails that nobody understands her blatantly ignores her devoted partner and his tiny dog, who try to care for her. Ignoring the people around us comes to serious detriment to the businessman in the restaurant, when his oblivion allows a man sitting nearby to swipe his wallet out of his pocket whilst the rich man boasts to his friend about his wealth on his cell phone. At other times, the film shows what happens when the world simply ignores us. A man must endure the rain when a crowded bus stop denies him a place to stand, and another must take the stairs. These scenes capture the film's carefully balanced tone between humor and tragedy in its exploration of the world's forgotten or overlooked.Another interesting aspect about the film is that there are several occasions when the actors directly address the camera and audience. This often occurs when characters are describing their dreams to the viewer. The effect is humorous but poignant. For example, during one scene a man caught in traffic leans out the car window, looks into the camera, and begins to describe a dream where he is sentenced to the electric chair for breaking a family's precious china during a magic trick gone wrong. We see the dream played out, then return to the car inching along the screen. Although the content of the dream is certainly absurd and humorous, his story reveals complex emotions and human insecurities. Likewise, when a lovesick girl addresses the viewer and recounts her dream, we get a personal glimpse of her wild but lighthearted passion for guitar player Mikke. In one of the most visually compelling scenes of the film, Mikke plays the guitar in their moving house, while a crowd of supportive fans wish them the best as they continue on life's journey. The girl's recounting of the dream expresses her deep desire to be supported and loved. One criticism of the film is that because there is no real plot development or overarching resolution of conflict, the film does seem to drag on towards the end. Each vignette is entertaining in and of itself, but without a narrative to tie them together some may find the film too long to captivate the viewer's attention throughout the entire length of the film. However, the filmmaker does make several attempts to subtly connect the characters in unexpected ways. Fore example, all of the characters find themselves in a torrential thunderstorm midway through the film, and their shared experience of the dark deluge unites their stories. Likewise, there are some characters who we revisit from time to time throughout the film, notably the lonely Mia, and the lovesick girl who pines over Mikke the guitar player. We also often find ourselves at the seedy bar. The monotony of day-to-day life is explored in the bar, as every day the bartender ceremoniously rings a bell and shouts for the people to come order their last drinks. Although these connections and patters do unite the story as a whole, the film would probably be improved if the director has pared down the vignettes and omitted a few of the scenes to make the story move faster. Although this film is a clear deviation from Hollywood narrative style, the raw human experiences explored through the characters and scenes is a wonderfully comedic cinematic journey through the life of you, the living. It is no surprise that the film has won a host of awards across the globe, and an overall positive international response. The film cover's description of the film as a hybrid of "Bergman meets Monty Python" is not far off base: it adopts the famed Ingmar Bergman style of revealing the deep emotions and underlying psychology of the characters while also using hilarious timing and dialogue to explore these themes. Overall, this "tragicomedy" explores what it means to be a human in a refreshingly enjoyable way.

tombrookes2007 The Swedish film is billed as a comedic meditation, but for me it was just too arty, cold and a study from a warped artistic mind. There are apparently 50 ironic vignettes in this film, whereby a mainly muted story made from rolling scenes of uncomfortable nonsense combines visions of bored individuals, with a link to musical instruments. The film could be interpreted as deep, meaningful and different but most will see it for the art for arts sake tripe study of expression that makes art so subjective and personal. Be in the mood, for enlightenment, and see what you can draw from this piece of film.Here, filmmaker Roy Andersson draws the viewer into the world of a woman whose most uplifting moments are always balanced by tragedy, and whose joy is constantly offset by sorrow. This comic tragedy of life manifests itself in a manner that all can surely relate to, it's just whether YOU GET IT